A State Council executive meeting, presided over by Premier Li Keqiang on Feb 24, mapped out plans to boost new energy vehicles and decided to protect and utilize historical and cultural relics.

Development of new energy vehicles should rely on mass entrepreneurship and innovation to make key technological breakthroughs, the meeting decided. The central government urged the following measures:

First, achieve revolutionary breakthroughs in power batteries. A platform of innovation in developing power batteries will be established that involves the participation of enterprises, colleges and research institutes. The central government will award enterprises in terms of functionality and sales of the batteries.

Second, improve the infrastructure for battery charging. More facilities are expected to be built in residential districts, parking lots of enterprises and airports. The central government will support the initiative through budgetary investment and special financial bonds on power distribution networks.

Third, expand the application proportion of new energy vehicles in urban public transport, taxis and logistics of transportation. The number of new energy vehicles purchased by the central government and local governments where the policy is promoted should account for more than 50 percent of the total new vehicles.

Fourth, improve the overall quality of new energy vehicles. The State Council urged the improvement of entry standards, strengthening quality supervision, integrating new energy vehicles with the Internet of Things, as well as establishing mechanisms such as punitive compensation.

Fifth, improve supporting policies such as financial subsidies. New energy vehicles are not subject to purchase quotas or certain traffic control measures. Social capital is encouraged to invest in construction of charging facilities and battery recycling.

The meeting also decided to take the following measures to protect historical and cultural relics.

First, focus on protection. Draft protection plans, rescue endangered relics, promote the repairing of precious relics and improve fireproofing and anti-theft facilities.

Second, enhance management and law enforcement. Establish a national database of historical and cultural relics, and crack down on crimes and accidents involving the relics.

Third, utilize the relics rationally and moderately. Include more museums into the category where financial support is directed for free entry. Social forces that voluntarily invest in the protection and repair of immovable county-level relics can be granted a period for the right of use.

Fourth, enhance policy support. Increase the budget for relic protection, set up insurance products on the protection of relics and support the development of non-State museums.

Fifth, educate personnel on protection of historical and cultural relics.